Gas Station

By KELLY GLISTA, Kglista@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, February 16, 2013

Police are looking for a man who robbed a Getty gas station at gunpoint late Friday. A man entered the station at 176 Tolland Turnpike at approximately 9:20 p.m. according to police. He showed a silver automatic handgun and demanded money from the clerk, police said. The suspect also stole cigarettes from behind the register and money from a customer present at the time of the robbery, police said. The man fled on foot heading east on Tolland possibly to a waiting vehicle - a witness described a black vehicle, possibly a Ford Taurus, leaving the parking lot after the robbery, according to police.

PLAINFIELD - Police released photos Sunday of a burglary suspect wanted in connection with an overnight break-in at a gas station in the Wauregan section of town. Police went to the BP gas station, 309 Putnam Road, at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday in response to an alarm sounding at the business, police said. Police found an open door and several items missing but no one was on the premises. During the investigation, police gathered surveillance video footage which showed a possible suspect with the following description: a white male in his early twenties with a small to medium build with shoulder length dark hair, wearing a North Face hoody and carrying what appeared to be a camouflage backpack, police said.

BY HILDA MUÑOZ, hmunoz@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, February 6, 2013

A 44-year-old man suspected of robbing a Citgo gas station at knifepoint was arrested Wednesday. Anthony Simons, of West Haven, is scheduled to appear Wednesday at Superior Court in Derby. He is charged with first-degree robbery and sixth-degree larceny. Police say Simons robbed the gas station, located at 442 River Rd., the night of Nov. 30, 2012. He allegedly purchased an item before pulling out a knife and demanding money.

WILLIMANTIC — Police are investigating two robberies that happened about 10 minutes apart Monday night. The Shans Mart gas station at 104 Main St. was robbed by two individuals at about 10:50 p.m., police said. An employee told officers that the pair took an undetermined amount of cash and fled. About 10 minutes later, the Valero gas station at 1440 West Main St. was robbed by the same suspects, police said. Again, the pair fled with an undetermined amount of cash. Police did not say Tuesday if the crimes were connected to a Sunday night robbery at a Family Dollar Store where a large amount of money was taken.

HARTFORD - A woman is expected to face charges after she crashed her car into a gas station on Franklin Avenue early Monday. Police said the crash happened at 1:51 a.m. when a female driver lost control of her car and crashed into a gas pump and then into the store at 181 Franklin Ave. A store clerk suffered minor injuries in the accident, police said. The road was closed for a bit as crews worked to clean up the scene but was expected to be reopened by morning.

By HILLARY FEDERICO, hfederico@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, November 29, 2011

A Mobil gas station on Boston Post Road was robbed at gunpoint Tuesday night. No one was injured at the Baldwin Bridge Mobil, at 399 Boston Post Road. The incident happened shortly before 8 p.m. Two men in their 20s entered the gas station and forced the only employee in the building to the side while they stole cash from the register, police said. The men ran from the area and headed westbound in an older model four-door sedan. Police said an undetermined amount of cash wash taken.

The state will use $2 million in federal stimulus funds to clean the area around leaking underground tanks in Bloomfield, Hartford, Terryville and four other locations. The Department of Environmental Protection chose sites in which a responsible person or company could not be identified or was not able to pay for the cleanup. The money will pay to find the leaks, assess the damage and remove any contamination. The work involves environmental consultants and laboratories, construction workers, landfill operators, trucking companies and drilling companies.

ROCKY HILL — Police are investigating after a gas station was robbed early Monday. A clerk at the Shell gas station on Silas Deane Highway confirmed an armed robbery took place and nobody was injured. State police said they assisted in the search for the suspect using police dogs. The investigation into the robbery is continuing.

By SAMAIA HERNANDEZ, smhernandez@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, October 16, 2012

Police are seeking a man in his 40s who allegedly fired shots Monday at a gas station near Route 1 and Goose Lane. Police say a man driving a red Dodge Ram truck fired shots that struck a vehicle around 5 p.m. The suspect is described as a 5-foot-8 to 6-foot tall white man with brown hair, wearing a blue shirt and yellow tie. Anyone with information is asked to call department's tip line at 203-453-8240.

By CHRISTINE DEMPSEY, cdempsey@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, January 30, 2013

An East Windsor man was arrested on drug charges after he sold marijuana to an undercover officer in a gas station parking lot, police said. Narcotics officers seized $608 during the drug operation, which happened outside the Mobil On The Run station and convenience store on Sullivan Avenue, police said. Michael Resto, 21, of the Broad Brook section of East Windsor, was charged with possession of marijuana and sale of marijuana, police said. He also was arrested on separate warrants charging him with additional counts of the same charges.

WETHERSFIELD -- The Wethersfield Diner on Silas Deane Highway closed earlier this month, according to Planning and Economic Development Director Peter Gillespie. Gillespie said Tuesday he did not know why the eatery at 718 Silas Deane Highway went out of business. "We had heard that they were having a challenge the last little while," Gillespie said. The business' phone was disconnected Tuesday, and its former operators could not be located for comment. The property is owned by Cross Investments LLC, whose principal, Caesar Rossitto, also owns and operates the neighboring Mobile station at 708 Silas Deane Highway, Gillespie said.

Payment options, cash or credit, are marked clearly at local gas stations. But how does your local fill-up treat plastic cash, the debit card? A debit card looks like a credit card, but banks treat it like a cash transaction. A consumer receives no "credit," equivalent to a small loan, for any debit-card transaction. Debit is not credit. Why, then, do some gas stations charge higher "credit card" prices for debit-card purchases? Because they can, according to state regulations, but only if they post signs on the face of the gas pump and at the cash register declaring the debit-as-credit charge.

HARTFORD — A man accused of firing at least six shots into the windshield of a vehicle driven by his cousin on July 12 had recently argued with the victim over a woman, according to an arrest warrant. Jerry Duncan, 18, was arrested Friday and charged with attempted murder, reckless endangerment, carrying a pistol without a permit and having a weapon in a motor vehicle. He was initially held with bail set at $2 million, but at his arraignment Monday a judge reduced bail to $100,000.

By NICHOLAS RONDINONE, nrondinone@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, July 11, 2014

BRANFORD — A Middletown woman told police she used a torn bed sheet to choke a man to death at the Branford Motel on July 3 because she was being physically abused, according to an arrest warrant. Lashanda Gregory, 27, was charged with murder and third- and sixth-degree larceny in connection with the death of Byron McDade, 41. She's currently being held on $1 million bond. Police said they were called after motel workers found McDade unconscious and not breathing in a room with a bedsheet around his neck.

By KELLY GLISTA, Kglista@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, June 27, 2014

BROOKLYN, Conn. — State police are seeking the public's help to identify two men who robbed a Providence Road gas station on May 29. The robbery happened at Chucky's gas station at 500 Providence Road, state police said. Troopers responded to the scene just before midnight and were told that two men had entered the store and demanded money. One of the men grabbed the cashier from behind and held a metal object to his neck, state police said. The cashier opened the cash register and the second suspect took the money.

I am driving south on the Wilber Cross Parkway. I am headed to Milford to finish a job. I stop at the recently renovated gas station and convenience store for a snack. I am delighted that our lawmakers and or bureaucrats have reserved a close parking space for me as I have a clean, energy-efficient vehicle, and I park under a sign that restricts this space and reserves it for people like me. Then I think, how does my 40-plus miles per gallon vehicle compare to a 15 mpg passenger van carrying a bunch of kids to camp?

By DANIELA ALTIMARI, altimari@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, August 25, 2012

PORTLAND -- Police are investigating an armed robbery Friday at a Mobil station on Route 17. Police said the suspect waited for patrons to leave the gas station before approaching the clerk with a knife and demanding cash. The suspect then fled. Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call Sgt. Cunningham of the Portland police at 860-342-6780.

By HILLARY FEDERICO, hfederico@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, September 14, 2011

Police are seeking information about a man believed to have robbed a CITGO gas station at knifepoint Tuesday night. No one at the gas station, at 133 Chamberlain Highway, was injured, police said. Officers were called about the armed robbery sometime after 8 p.m. We tell you what's happening, when it happens, for FREE: Sign-up for Breaking News Mobile to end subscription.

By CHRISTINE DEMPSEY, cdempsey@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, May 6, 2014

HARTFORD - A craving for heroin was at the root of a string of suburban robberies in January, court documents show. Five men played roles in at least one of the three holdups at gas station convenience stores in East Hartford, Manchester and South Windsor, the records say; one, Ryan Grzesiak, 19, of Beelzebub Road in South Windsor, is accused of being involved in all three. Grzesiak also faces robbery and drug charges in Superior Court in Rockville, the court records show. He appeared in Superior Court Tuesday and his cases were continued to May 28. He remains in custody on more than $280,000 bail.

By KELLY GLISTA, Kglista@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, February 18, 2014

SOUTHINGTON — Police are searching for a suspect who robbed a Southington gas station on Feb. 7, armed with a retractable carpet knife. The suspect entered the Kaival Food Mart and Gulf gas station located at 1123 Meriden Waterbury Turnpike just after 9 p.m., police said. The man ran toward the front of the shop, jumped over the counter and grabbed the clerk by the shirt, ordering the clerk to open the cash register. The man then grabbed the cash drawer and the money beneath it and fled the store, police said.